The One where Sara makes Chicken Parmesan
by AgentMaryMargaretSkitz
Summary: What it says on the tin. Sara tries to surprise Leonard by cooking. It doesn't go well.


**freyreh prompted me to do this one, along with a few other CC shippers. This was my stab at it.**

 **Set after they rescue Leonard, because, well, we all want that to happen.**

* * *

"You're doing what?"

"Cooking for me and Leonard," Sara explained as she continued to put out ingredients on the counter. "Gideon's letting him out of the med bay tonight. I thought I might do something nice for him."

Jax nodded. "Need any help with it?"

She shook her head as she opened one of the cabinets. "I've survived a shipwreck and two stints in the League of Assassins. I think I can handle chicken parmesan."

"Just offering," he said, slipping off his stool. "Good luck. And don't set the kitchen on fire."

"You do realize that Mick or you and Stein are more likely to do that, right?" Sara called after him as he left before turning back to the recipe.

"You can do this," she told herself, looking down at her ingredients. Previous experiences in the kitchen hadn't always gone great for her. But this time, she was determined to get this to work right. And hopefully not send Leonard right back to the med bay with food poisoning.

An hour and a half later, the food was done. There had been a couple missteps along the way, mostly with the pasta. And also the sauce. Maybe the chicken too. But she was sure that she had nailed it. It did look edible, and hopefully it tasted good too.

* * *

"You cooked?" Leonard asked as he saw what she had done.

"Yes, don't sound so shocked," Sara said as they sat down. "I wanted to surprise you after you got out of the med bay. Besides, it's kind of my fault you ended up in there."

"Sara, it wasn't your fault."

"It was partially my fault. This is an attempt to make up for it."

"Sure it's not one to poison me?"

Sara rolled her eyes and snorted at his teasing tone. "Hilarious."

As she cut up her chicken, she cast a glance across the table as Leonard took a bite. His face twisted for a moment as he chewed. Then he smiled. "It's good."

"Really?"

"One of the best things I've eaten in a while."

Something felt off, but her concern about the dish was lessened and her pride looked like it was going to be intact. Assured, Sara speared a piece of the chicken with some of the noodles and popped it in her mouth. As soon as the taste hit her, she nearly spit it back out. This had not been what she had been expecting. The noodles weren't fully cooked. The chicken was burnt and left a salty taste in her mouth. The sauce didn't help that at all. If anything, it just made it worse.

Grabbing a napkin, Sara spit out her mouthful. "You liar."

"Pretty sure that's old news by now," he smirked. "But I have had worse."

"You've had worse than this? Yikes."

Leonard opened his mouth to say something else, but didn't get the chance. The arrival of the nerds in the kitchen stopped him, and he and Sara turned toward Ray and Stein.

"Sorry if we're interrupting," Ray apologized. "Just came in to get sup-hey, is that chicken parmesan?"

"Yep," Sara nodded, looking at where Ray was pointing.

"It turned out pretty well," Leonard told them. "I recommend it."

Sara saw the look in his eye and knew where he was going with it. "Yeah, if you want some, go for it. It's really good."

The two thanked her and served themselves. Sara watched the two of them closely, waiting for their reactions. It was downright diabolical of her and Leonard to do this, but she had a feeling this was going to be interesting. Even though she was disappointed with the disaster of the meal, maybe some good could come out of it. And playing a prank of Ray and Stein was too good to resist.

Stein was the first one to sample her food, and his eyes widened before he choked out that it was an 'interesting recipe'.

Ray, on the other hand, just gagged when the taste hit him. "Okay, that's bad. Who made this?"

"Sara did," Leonard answered as Sara glared at them the best she could. Miraculously, she was able to keep herself from smiling.

It was all too amusing to watch Ray's eyes widen and then fumble to get himself back in good graces with her. "D-did I say bad? I didn't mean bad in a bad way. It was meant in a good way. Bad can be meant in a good way, right? Like with badass."

Sometimes, Ray talking was like watching a puppy flail.

Awkward silence descended over the kitchen, nobody sure of what to do next. Stein was the first to crack though, announcing that he was going to go check on Rip before he left the room. Ray was not far behind him, clearly eager to get out of the kitchen. As soon as he was gone, Leonard started grinning widely while Sara snorted laughter.

"I don't think I've seen Raymond that terrified in a long time," he remarked.

Sara nodded and stood up. "Let's get rid of this before we actually do end up poisoning someone else."

The failed dish was disposed of, and they cleaned up the rest of the dishes and pans that Sara had used when she was cooking. Once everything was back where it was supposed to be, Sara and Leonard retreated back to his room to play cards. The assassin was quiet as he dealt the cards out.

"Thank you," he said suddenly midway through the dame. "For dinner."

"Dinner was shit," Sara sighed. Her pride had taken a bit of a hit. The dish was supposed to be simple, yet she'd mucked it up. "Sorry it turned out terrible."

"Doesn't matter," Leonard shook his head and smiled at her. "I've never had anyone do something like that for me, and I...I appreciate it."

"Is this the Leonard Snart way of saying thank you?" Sara teased as she drew another card.

"It's a version," the crook admitted.

"Thank me once you're sure I didn't accidentally give you food poisoning."

* * *

 **I honestly see Captain Canary being little shits. It just happened.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed!**


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